


A Slow Curl Of Warmth

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, FatT Rarepair Swap, background maelgwyn/castille
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 10:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14788640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: Sige,  Aubrey, and dancing.





	A Slow Curl Of Warmth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mercutioes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercutioes/gifts).



> for the fatt rarepair swap!!! All the rarepairs on your list were all Very good, and how could I not write about these two (I hope you like it!!)

“One-two-three... one-two-three…”

 

Edmund's voice echoed softly in the schoolroom, accompanied by Ethan playing softly on the piano. Aubrey bit her lip, frowning in concentration down at her feet as she tried to stay in time with Sige. She could feel Maelgwyn and Castille moving together behind her, their footfalls graceful despite Castille's heavy stone tread. Although her own were lighter she didn't move nearly as easily as them, watching her feet carefully, feeling her tail move off-beat behind her. 

 

“Heads up you two,” said Ethan from his position at the piano. 

 

Edmund nodded. “Eyes on each other.”

 

Aubrey felt herself flush, glad her fur would hide it. She took a steadying breath, looking up to meet Sige’s eyes. 

 

“I'd rather keep my eyes on my feet,” muttered Sige. 

 

“Mind on your feet, eyes on your partner,” said Edmund, “that's what I tell my students.”

 

“Mine too,” said Ethan, grinning. 

 

Edmund grinned back at him, a little shakily but even enough to match. “Fighting and dancing, right?”

 

Ethan huffed a laugh. “Fighting and dancing.”

 

The twins had been a little uneven since the fire at the university, but they were still on the same level enough to have an hours worth of conversation with each other in a fragment of a sentence. Sige made a face at her and Aubrey pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. 

 

“I really don't think anyone's going to notice if we don't dance,” said Aubrey, for what felt like the hundredth time.

 

“People notice,” said the Hitchcocks in unison.

 

“But it'll be such a big party, we could just--sorry!” Aubrey sprang back as she felt her foot connect with Sige’s.

 

Sige smiled down at her. “Barely felt a thing.” He paused. “Actually. Kind of gives me an idea... “ He bent a little, putting his hands tentatively on her waist. “Do you mind if I... ?”

 

Aubrey had absolutely no idea what his plan could be, but it certainly couldn't be worse that how they'd been dancing (or trying to). She nodded. 

 

Sige lifted her, his movements careful, putting her in mind of when he drank tea out of Castille’s delicate china cups. He set her gently on the tops of his shoes. 

 

Aubrey felt sure her blush showed through her fur. “Oh!”

 

“Thought it'd be easier than us stepping on each other's toes,” said Sige.

 

They were close enough now that she could see a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks. Her chest felt tight. 

 

“Um,” she managed to say. 

 

“Is this--”

 

“No, yeah, good idea,” said Aubrey, before he could change his mind. 

 

Sige smiled down at her, as warm as the afternoon sun coming in through the windows of the schoolroom. 

 

She heard one of the Hitchcocks huff a laugh. “It'll work.”

 

Edmund started his count again, although it seemed more for himself than for either of the pairs in front of him - Maelgwyn and Castille could dance well enough on their own, and Aubrey felt as though she could barely hear either of the Hitchcocks, too focused on Sige's hand on her waist. With the motion of each step they leaned closer together, until her head was resting on his chest. Aubrey's eyes slipped closed 

 

“This is much easier,” said Aubrey. 

 

“I've been known to have a good idea every now and again,” said Sige.

 

Aubrey smiled, feeling with warmth of Sige's body sink down into her bones. 

 

“Hey. Aubrey,” said Sige haltingly, the words rumbling against her ear, “after this, did you--”

 

“We're heading out,” said Castille, her voice cutting through the quiet of the room. 

 

“What?” spluttered Edmund, “But we're--”

 

“Yep, all done,” said Castille, tugging Maelgwyn out of the room behind her, “see you all tomorrow.”

 

Maelgwyn’s laugh echoed in the room even after the door slammed shut behind them.

 

Edmund huffed a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Right. Right, well.”

 

Sige let go of her, his hands sliding slowly from her's. “Guess we're done here?”

 

“I guess so,” said Edmund, “see you both tomorrow for… you know. The thing.”

 

The pleasant warmth that had filled Aubrey sunk out the bottom of her feet. 

 

“Right,” said Aubrey, “the thing.”

 

She pressed her lips together, looking down to where her clawed toes scratched thin lines through the varnished floorboards. 

 

“Right,” said Sige. He paused, clapping hand on her shoulder for a too-brief moment. “Get some rest.”

 

“You too,” said Aubrey.

 

The afternoon light still poured in through the windows, but the schoolroom felt a great deal colder without him in it. 

  
  


They never did get the chance to dance that night, and after that things were too busy to think of dancing. Work for Samot kept her busy, and between the Golden Lance and rebuilding his boat Sige didn’t seem to have the free time that he used to. Certainly not enough for dancing with her. 

 

It was a long, long time until they were both close like that again. It was a rare night of celebration, something she did to pull Samot out of his darker moods. That Sige was there at all was surprising, he usually made his excuses or silently skipped it, but he was there tonight, hovering at the edge of the crowd. It was impossible for her not to spot him over the dancers, all the more dashing for the steaks of silver through his hair. Aubrey tucked a curl of fur behind her ear as he approached her, trying not to think about how different her own looked with grey running through it. He stopped short, standing next to her, his eyes still on the swirl of dancers in front of them. 

 

“Nice party,” he said, after a moment. 

 

“Yes, I think so,” said Aubrey, “or, I hope it is.”

 

Aubrey watched him carefully out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t normally get the chance to see him this close any more. So much about him had changed, his clothes much finer and his shoulders bearing more weight.

 

His hands were the same though, where they're resting on the banister behind them. There was a small cut on the back of his left hand, from where one of her experiments exploded too close-by him once. He'd only laughed, good-natured even as she fussed over his hand, rushing to get bandages.

 

Aubrey wondered if he remembered that. She opened her mouth to ask, not given the chance to think better of it as someone bumped into her as they bound up the stairs, pushing her forward. Sige caught her against his chest easily.

 

“Watch it,” said Sige, glowering at the person. 

 

Aubrey didn’t look to see who it was. She was caught the moment Sige looked down, eyes locking with her's.

 

The band’s music changed as if on queue, the beat of it slowing until the dancers seemed more like they were swaying in time with one another, like brightly-coloured reeds in the wind. 

 

Aubrey licked her lips. “Do you… do you remember…”

 

Slowly, carefully, she stepped onto the top of his shoes. Something flickered over Sige's face before he broke into a warm smile, the years fading away from his face. He reached out, sliding one hand around her waist and the other into her waiting hand.

 

“We never did get to do more than practise, did we?”

 

Aubrey nodded, swallowing around the lump in her throat. “I think I remember how it went though.”

 

“Something like…”

 

Sige started them slowly, turning them around the edges of the room. Aubrey sighed, leaning her head against his chest. The material against her cheek was softer than in her memory but the warmth of his body was the same. 

 

She felt Sige slow his steps, and she looked up at him. There was a faint tinge of pink, high on his cheeks. Aubrey felt like not a moment has passed since they last danced, weightless and warm in the afternoon light of a long-ago dance schoolroom. This time though, she knew exactly what to do. 

 

She let go of his side, cupping his cheek for a moment before she slid her hand around to the back of his neck, pulling him down. She was close enough that she could feel Sige's sharp inhale as he followed her movement. 

 

It was a little awkward, kissing someone without a snout, but after a moment of adjusting they found their rhythm in it. Aubrey felt the warmth of it down to her bones, warm for the first time in years. 

 

Just like the dancing, Aubrey would say later, it took them a little while, but they got there in the end. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


End file.
